Circuit City
I brought an old american retail giant back to life
In my rebranding project for Circuit City, I transformed the brand from a traditional electronics retailer to a modern hub for refurbished electronics and DIY workshops. This new model emphasizes sustainability, community engagement, and education, responding to the increasing demand for affordable and sustainable technology.
Problem
Revive the Circuit City brand with a new business concept, brand identity and customer experience.
Target Audience
The project targets those seeking affordable tech solutions and learning electronic repairs.
Scope
Oct 2022 - Dec 2023 // Solo Project
Tools
Figma, Wireframing, Design Thinking, Prototyping
Background
What caused Circuit City to go bankrupt?
Circuit City collapsed in 2008 due to outdated strategies and competition from Best Buy. A proposed revival includes pivoting towards a growing refurbished electronics market, with a focus on sustainability, educational workshops, and a community hub for tech enthusiasts, embracing a circular economy model.
Target Audience
Meet Sarah and Carlos,
my personas.
In developing the new Circuit City business model, I identified the target demographic as younger North Americans, aged 18 to 45, and their children, offering special workshops. The brand experience was shaped around personas like Sarah, a 33-year-old single mother needing an affordable laptop for her son, and Carlos, a 20-year-old computer science student seeking affordable phone repair and social connections. These personas, developed through competitor research and guided the customer journey designs, focusing on their specific needs and challenges.
Customer Journey Map
Carlos journey helped me identify possible touchpoints.
To better understand how my customers interact with the brand and to identify which touchpoints I needed to design, I sketched out two customer journeys: one for Sarah, who is looking to buy a refurbished laptop for her son, and another for Carlos, who wants to get his phone fixed. Sarah’s experience with the brand is solely digital, while Carlos’s journey includes visiting the Circuit City store, interacting with employees, and even buying coffee at the in-store coffee shop.
Grid System Explorations
At this point, I better understood what the brand should look and feel like. I wanted to move away from Circuit City’s original color scheme of Red, Black, and White and move towards something more grounded, friendly, and less aggressive. I tried various grid systems and styles for the website, oscillating between experimental and “fun” approaches and more stiff and corporate feels. I experimented with modular grids, which would have given the website a more editorial feel. Still, I decided to move forward with a column grid system for clarity and visibility.
I played around to find a fitting new layout for the Circuit City website.
Color, Logo, Typeface
After exploring multiple options, I settled on a playful yet qualitativ look.
While developing Circuit City's website, I explored various color schemes including pastel shades and a combination of blue and yellow, reminiscent of brands like Best Buy. I also considered more avant-garde options but found them too abstract. For the logo, I chose a simple, memorable design that aligns with the brand's identity, opting for the playful yet sophisticated "Orelega One" serif font. The website's text is set in the legible "Radio Canada" sans-serif font, with "Tiro Bangla" serif for quotes. In terms of the logo, I aimed to create something simple and easily recognizable, a design that would look good on coffee cups and t-shirts yet still reflect the store’s ethos.
I refined the design, experimenting with colors and layouts until settling on a scheme of blue (0C356A), yellow (FFC436), and white (FFFFFF). Despite these colors being associated with Best Buy, Circuit City's shift towards device repair, education, and refurbished tech differentiates it from its former competitor.
Key Takeaways
You have to know exactly who you are designing for and what their problems are.
This passion project has taught me a great deal about shaping a brand’s experience using colors, grid systems, fonts, and language. It has also enlightened me about the process of completely redesigning a brand from scratch. If I had more time, I would love to revisit the beginning and conduct user research to validate my assumed user personas, Carlos and Sarah. Additionally, I would like to design the interior of a Circuit City repair store, as this is a crucial aspect of the user experience.
01
The importance of customer journeys
Building Sarah's and Carlos' customer journeys demonstrated the importance of fully visualizing the path a user takes while experiencing your product. It prompted me to consider aspects of the experience that I might have otherwise overlooked.
02
Practicing Visual Design
Creating the visual design for Circuit City's website was a great opportunity for me to practice my visual design skills.
03
Striking the right feel
The main takeaway from this project was realizing how important it is to strike the right tone when communicating with customers. It is essential to know exactly who you are designing for and what their problems are to achieve the perfect tone.
